Okay, so here’s the deal. This is the open thread. This is where we all come to get the news that other Q tree inhabitants think is worth knowing and sharing. Please, post links to any “news” stories quoted, and ask for help if you are stumped as to how to do that. We’re a friendly lot. Someone will be with you shortly, and there is no reason to have to press one for English.

Free speech, and the open exchange and hashing out of ideas is not only allowed, but encouraged. If we all don’t use it, we’re going to lose it. There are, however, limits to civility, and those limits are strictly observed here. We are all on the same team. No personal threats, baiting, name calling and other behavior you would not want someone else to do to you is allowed.

Yes, it can be rough to temper speech. However, those who would like to slog it out from the comfort of the seat behind your keyboard, Wolf has provided a venue known as the UTree. Please, take it there where this is allowed to happen:

And now for some house keeping:

There are a few rules here in the branches of the Q Tree. Our host, Wolfm00n, outlined them in a post on New Years Day 2019. Please, review these rules from time to time, maybe while waiting for the defrosters to get rolling while warming up the car in this global warming climate change deep freeze that’s happening.

Fellow tree dweller Wheatie gave us some good reminders on the basics of civility in political discourse:

No food fights.

No running with scissors.

If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.

Steve suggests – to be accurate – no shooting at the nuclear weapons, but to be safe about it, don’t event point firearms toward them. I, Deplorable Patriot, bossy chick that I am, request no teasing the animals, pets and wildlife alike. FG&C asks that you wash your hands, wipe down all non in-home surfaces, and take some vitamin C, vitamin D, zinc, and get plenty of rest.

And please, pretty please with sugar on top, no celebratory gunfire…at least not indoors. Concealed carry is encouraged though.

Teasing and trolling the lefties and their bastions, on the other hand is a moral imperative. I will say this one aged well.

David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edominto the City of David amid festivities.As soon as the bearers of the ark of the LORD had advanced six steps,he sacrificed an ox and a fatling.Then David, girt with a linen apron,came dancing before the LORD with abandon,as he and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORDwith shouts of joy and to the sound of the horn.The ark of the LORD was brought in and set in its placewithin the tent David had pitched for it.Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.When he finished making these offerings,he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts.He then distributed among all the people,to each man and each woman in the entire multitude of Israel,a loaf of bread, a cut of roast meat, and a raisin cake.With this, all the people left for their homes.

As always, prayers for the fight against that which seeks to enslave us are welcome.

I’m seeing tweets from lawmakers from Oklahoma, Iowa and more celebrating this signing. I don’t know that we in Missouri will get the shoe factories back, or more than one car manufacturing plant, but the farmers in the northern part of the state will benefit.

The leak may prove too clever by half. Senators play others, they do not like to be played. The fall back position is mutually assured destruction option: allow both sides to lay waste to each other and leave it to the public to pick through the ruins. https://t.co/Ya7pY3TRIT

In this tweet is a link to a Jonathan Turley’s opinion in a WaPo article referencing the Bolton book leak. The tweet says:

“The leak may prove too clever by half. Senators play others, they do not like to be played. The fall back position is mutually assured destruction option: allow both sides to lay waste to each other and leave it to the public to pick through the ruins.”

“This is just one of many reasons Dems are so desperate to impeach & remove President Trump. They don’t have a prayer at winning the WH or even the Senate in November.”

Link to Gallup survey referenced in Jesse Water’s tweet, which show amazing rises in satisfaction among Americans from President Trump’s first year in office to present across any number of issues, from the economy to race relations…

“ Unfortunately, Wheatie2, no, I can’t read the tweets except just text people are posting and the commenters, and I have read some Q.”

Not sure how many here realize this or not but wonderful Zoe has very great trouble seeing and therefore she can’t read. She participates because of technology that reads our posts out-loud to her.

In light of this, I’d like to ask that when posting a link to a tweet (which automatically makes the tweet appear here) that you copy/paste the text of the tweet as well so Zoe can hear it. And, if this is missed by the poster and you notice that, please copy/paste the text of the tweet in a reply for Zoe.

thanks FG&C, I will try to remember that.
but this morning, as I was trying to copy a link to a tweet, I could not…(I do not have a twitter account), so I will be copying and pasting text from now on!, happily!

About a week ago I think, apparently to accommodate androids or some such excuse… just before ‘shampeachment’ iirc… suspicious cat goes here! I couldn’t post tweets for a couple of days… then I asked duckduckgo and found a message from a friendly nerd (I love nerds!)

I recently had a conv with Zoe about this problem… her software doesn’t read memes either. If I paste the text for a tweet that’s part of a thread, she can only read the tweet I paste. To her knowledge there is no software that can read tweets or memes. (If there were I’m sure twit Jack would have all algos set to delete memes).

For a while I cut and pasted tweets, but then I forgot to… (memory probs here) I post a lot (too much probably) and I post alot of Threads… thank you for the reminder and I will try to remember… but doubt that I will. 😉

No worries, PR. If we can catch just a third more than present that would be a massive improvement for her….and Lord only knows how many people are in her orbit she can then share with.

We need every person alive to be included in our movement, which I believe is truly a fight between good and evil. And when I think on it this way….as a war…then each person is a soldier…

….and American soldiers never, ever leave a man behind.

It is this very ethos that drives our military to risk the lives of dozens of people and $millions$ in equipment, for example, to extract a downed pilot from behind enemy lines…and America is virtually alone not only in it’s willingness but it’s insistence to do this.

Thanks to McEvil songbird, all efforts to recover/retrieve left behind soldiers in Vietnam were blocked because he alone controlled the committee that had authority over foreign policy. He would not approve any bill that allocated funds for MIA operations in Vietnam.

Decades of him being afraid of records of his POW stay in the Hanoi Hilton camp; ergo, can’t have true patriotic Americans wandering around Vietnam. They might hear things or find things. Those things he feared people knowing about.

Hi, Phoenix. Appreciate you so much. I’ll just mention here since we’re discussing that I also can’t read documents when they are posted as a picture. My speech program doesn’t read those. I realize sometimes people can’t help doing this, just thought some people might like to know. Have a great evening.

I am wondering if you can “read” the “threadreader app” for Twitter ?
As an example, I am posting short bread from “Carlos Osweda”.
Please let us know if you can “read” it, so that we can post “threadreader apps” where available.

First is the tweeted link-if you click on the picture field, it opens up the threadreader:

I posted on this yesterday… some may not have seen… and this is a new twitter acc’t I just found… some may want to bookmark her, she comes highly recommended by Lisa Mei’s followers for her coverage of DoJ

This was my going in position. Still want to believe it. Perfectly laid trap.

The statement from Bolton’s lawyer or spokesman quite clearly pins the leak on NSC.

IF this is a canary trap, hoping it is, then we’ll know before the vote on witnesses. I’m thinking a Bolton press conference with no questions taken. Disavow the NYT article and unequivocally state no Quid Pro Quo.

IF it doesn’t happen by voting on witnesses, then Bolton is a traitor.

Not backing away from my earlier thoughts on TS material generated, protection, etc. IF this is a canary trap, that would have been managed properly.
.
.

Now onto John Kelley. He’s a slime ball. Surprised he hasn’t come out talking bad about President Trump sooner. Thought he’d wait for a democrat nominee for the general election. magically appear on that team.

Then there is Mad Dog Mattis. Waiting for him to surface in the swamp also.

So we got an 11th hour anonymous leak to the Fake News Media about a book written by a top former Trump adviser who was brought in briefly and then had a very public falling out with the President & was fired.

So we got an 11th hour anonymous leak to the Fake News Media about a book written by a top former Trump adviser who was brought in briefly and then had a very public falling out with the President & was fired.

The leaker claims the book has a section in it in which Bolton says Trump told him he was directly tying the release of aid to Ukraine to corruption investigations targeting the Bidens and others.

Oh wait.

Maybe it’s not a section.

Perhaps it is just a single paragraph.

Maybe it’s not a paragraph, perhaps Bolton makes the claim in a single sentence.

I have no way of knowing exactly what Bolton claims in this book because I haven’t read it.

AND NEITHER HAVE THE DEMOCRATS OR THE DNC MEDIA COMPLEX [BIRM!]

I am watching all this insanity unfold over the past five days over a book that

NOBODY

HAS

BEEN

ABLE

TO

PROVIDE

A

***SINGLE QUOTE***

FROM!

And Bolton ain’t telling.

Bolton will neither CONFIRM or DENY what his book says.

The manuscript of this book was delivered to the NSC for review.

All the people in the NSC work for Trump through General Kellogg.

Trump ALREADY KNOWS what the book says, and he didn’t his Cliff Notes about the book via n anonymous leaker in the NYT’s.

I took Gunner all the way to Central Park, as a kid, so he could see the statue of Balto.
Balto was the dog who carried the medicine to the Alaskan town, in the midst of winter, saving the residents.
Strange what captures a child’s attention.

Pat, whatever the link has, you need to truncate it at .jpg or .png or (not so often) .jpeg. Often there will be a ? followed by parameters meant for sizing, alignment, etc., that pretty much send WP off into the weeds, as it just parses everything out and ends up with nothing.

Wyatt
@OldSchool2A
·
21h
Stanley Kubrick died exactly 666 days before the year 2001.

Think about all the people dialing *911*into their phones in a mass panic.

All part of the ritual.

These people know what they are doing.
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Wyatt
@OldSchool2A
·
21h
What are the odds that a film named ‘2001’ would feature a strange object which would later stand before the WTC complex which came down 2001?

Tip of the iceberg. A host of ‘coincidences’ which any sane, objective person will have a hard time explaining if they look into it.
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Wyatt
@OldSchool2A
·
21h
This is not a regular square building. I can only find one other one that looks like this on Earth.

In 2001 the black monolith signals/preempts the spiritual ascension of the creatures who touch it.
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Wyatt
@OldSchool2A
·
21h
This building, the Millenium Hilton, is styled to look just like the curious object from Stanley Kubrick’s *2001*: A Space Odyssey, which was released *33* years before the towers came down.
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Wyatt
@OldSchool2A
·
18h
Rumsfeld announced the day before attacks they they couldn’t account for $2.3 trillion in transactions. The records of this & interest in this announcement all but disappeared after the attacks. Unaccounted for, it wasn’t stolen over night. As in evidence of where it all went.
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Wyatt
@OldSchool2A
·
18h
But Wyatt, Is there significance to the number 77? You bet your occult-deciphering ass there is.

A∴A∴ is a magical order that was created by Crowley in 1907. Here’s their seal.

AA77 anyone???????
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Wyatt
@OldSchool2A
·
18h
From The Book of Lies: “7, the septenary; 11, the magical number; 77, the manifestation, therefore, of the septenary.
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Wyatt
@OldSchool2A
·
18h
Through matter, because 77 is written in Hebrew Ayin Zayin (OZ), and He-Goat, the symbol of matter, Capricornus, the Devil of the Tarot; which is the picture of the Goat of the Sabbath upon an altar.
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Wyatt
@OldSchool2A
·
18h
Black Mass anyone?

Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, lists 77 “infernal names” of the “Gods and Goddesses of the Royal Palace of Hell.”

It gets better: the Pentagon, which is 77 feet tall, is located on the 77th meridian west!.
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Wyatt
@OldSchool2A
·
18h
Oh and George H.W. Bush, who first announced his plans for a “New World Order” on September 11th, 1990 (11 years before…well shit this is just getting too obvious), well daddy Bush was…77 at the time of the attacks.
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Wyatt
@OldSchool2A
·
18h
For the record, I’m not demonizing any of these numbers. Symbols can be used for good or evil, I don’t believe a number can be inherently “evil.” After all, “Symbols don’t kill people; people with symbols kill people.”
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Wyatt
@OldSchool2A
·
18h
Any more 77’s we can add to this already overbearing occult script? You bet.

I’m sure most of you are familiar with the “mystery plane” that was spotting in New York and above the Pentagon during the attacks.
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Wyatt
@OldSchool2A
·
18h
The plane has since been identified as the E-4B, a highly secretive and advanced plane also referred to as the “Doomsday Plane”.

I always thought deep down there was a satanic element to 911,real evil .after what Wyatt just showed us I am horrified that all of these events were rituals and evil men and women were watching this with satanic glee. We truly have been asleep these years,like true ripvan wrinkles. How could I have been blind???

I don’t do the the bird of crap but will click on tweets from others at the Qtree. Amazing Polly and Cory digs has been my main source of Epstien_ info.my stomach hurts reading that stuff but I am compelled to find the truth no matter how revolting.

I have noticed for quite a few years that liberals have no sense of humor at all,that and there faces always look like pinched lemons.as for the bird I salute the brave ones still tweeting,I would be banned after my first post lol

….if we are rapidly approaching the end times as prophesied in the Bible (as I believe), then it makes great sense that:

1) this shit is actually real
and
2) it would be revealed to the searching & discerning minds of God’s children in advance of the arrival of the anti-Christ.

I would also point out to myself, if no one else, that I have NOT made it a point to inform myself of the ways and means of Satanists, primarily out of sheer revulsion and disgust…

….which is to say I am ignorant of their designs, rituals, symbology, etc.

So, if I am honest, I cannot so easily dismiss this stuff as bunk as I have in the past.

And right here, let me apologize to SadieSays, in particular, for my pushback in prior discussions of such things. My sincere desire for this stuff to be fake has overridden my loyalty to the truth no matter how vile, detestable, and disgusting my senses find that truth to be.

As a christian,I stay away from all things as much as possible that are devilish. However Q has opened my eyes to symbols and schemes of evil that surrounds us and I didn’t know about it at all. I do believe we are in the birth pangs and we should be ready and aware of the days in which we live. I do think the almighty has given us POTUS to open our eyes to the devil’s plans so we won’t be deceived or caught unawares. God bless everyone here for the truth and greater understanding of the times we live in,it’s amazing!

I feel the same Zoe. Even if we discount the satanic numerology stuff (which I personally don’t dismiss) all of the other events mentioned in Revelation is glaringly truly happening.
Long ago when I was much more involved with Bible study I always said that when the most innocent on earth, the children, were attacked and sacrificed we would know. Well, it’s now and I can’t imagine anything worse than people actually advocating for viable healthy babies to be left to die or the millions of children being sexually and physically abused like they are now.

I’ve learned to never underestimate how full of CRAP occultists can be . . . infinities to the power of infinities to the power of infinities IN MANY DIMENSIONS. . . (N.B. not so subtle hint dropped there.) Occultic Platonism is the spawn of Satan. Numerology is all about projecting a sense of power and control just as any magician’s smoke and mirrors. I am very glad to see these smucks being fed a taste of their own BAD MEDICINE. As far as I’m concerned shove their game of phony fear and awe back in their face. Their symbols are PWNED and being used AGAINST them. Checkmate. QED.

Well over 30 years ago we owned a small mobile home park. Our managers were Christian. We had an extremely creepy tenant who was killing and skinning cats, then displaying them on his porch. You couldn’t just evict the guy for being creepy. This was the first time I had ever run into ANYTHING even remotely like this. Anyway, we prayed over the park and asked for a guardian angel. Within a short space of time, he removed himself from the park, claiming that someone was always watching him.

It was an eye opening experience, and prepared me for other things that we happened to run into. I learned how to ask the Lord for help and deliverance from evil, from our managers.

Well …
VIRGINIA now joins the movement for “ranked voting” (a voter can vote for MORE than 1 person on the ballot by “ranking” the candidates from best to least — in theory, one can then “vote” for EVERY candidate for office listed on the ballot).http://www.dailyprogress.com/
“Hudson’s ranked choice voting bill advances”
House Bill 1103 was introduced by Del. SALLY HUDSON (D-Charlottesville) in the Virginia state Assembly this month. It passed out of committee and will be considered by the full Virginia House.
The Hudson bill is aimed at voting in LOCAL elections, like for school board.
OF COURSE the Hudson bill would pass out of committee — BOTH chambers of the Virginia Legislature were taken over by the DemComs in the November 2019 elections.
WATCH for this bill not only to pass and become law — it will OPEN THE DOOR to “ranked voting” in the GENERAL election. The goal here is to eventually ABOLISH the Electoral College.

Va like all states vote for Federal reps and senate this Nov 2020, however Va votes for STATE reps and senators in off years; that’s why the dems got their folks in last Nov 2019. Their State elections will not occur again until 2021.

I only know this because my very conservative son lives in Alexandria, Va. When he comes to visit,
I tell him; “Son, I knew you were close I could smell you a mile away!”
He replies; “Sorry Dad, it’s that swamp scum, the smell gets into all your clothes. That’s why I bring 3 loads of laundry!”

singularzoe
Agreed, evil and scary,
But before the DemComs move on abolishing the Electoral College, they’ll first get “ranked voting” for ALL local, then statewide, offices.
So their incremental steps for “ranked voting” are, from “least” to “most” —
School Board
City / County Council
Sheriff
DA
Magistrates / Judges (local Courts)
State Representatives / State Senators (some states call these “Assemblymen”)
State Secretary of State
Governor / Lt. Governor
U.S. Representative
U.S. Senator
President / Vice President of the United States

OR you could just go for the “jugular” and have “ranked voting” for national office ALREADY, like Maine.

I am sure y’all have seen and heard the scurrilous trio of gaping rectal apertures on CNN the other night degrading and deriding Trump supporters, as well as the hilarious deeper-hole-digging by Citrus Don. As predictable as a weather change, the self-proclaimed “elites” repeatedly remind us that their “club” is about as intelligent and mature as the Little Rascals’ “He-Man Womun Haters Club”.

FUNNIEST NEW YORK TIMES CORRECTION EVER?
It’s a contender, albeit from the society pages. From Friday’s New York Times, a correction to an article about a wedding:

Correction: Jan. 24, 2020

In an earlier version of this article, the given name of the actress who introduced the couple was misspelled. She is Vaishnavi Sharma, not Vaishmavi. The given name of the wedding officiant was also misspelled. She is Gabra Zackman, not Dabra. Also, the author of “Dracula” was incorrect. He is Bram Stoker, not Jane Austen.

That’s right: the Times employs a reporter, and presumably at least one editor, who thought Jane Austen was the author of Dracula! As I’ve aid before, those who refer to reporters and editors as “elites” are missing the point. Reporters and editors, by and large, are less intelligent and less well-informed than the average citizen.

The true authors of President Trump, the MAGA movement, and the creators/perpetuators of QAnon…

….the fierce and dedicated American warriors behind the Q mask….

There is only one “establishment” inside Wash DC that has NOT been linked with crimes against the American people over the past decade+, and that is the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).

We know…and are following VERY closely…the events surrounding the legalized “assassination” of your former leader, Gen. Mike Flynn.

Speaking for countless people both here and all over the world, I’d like to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your loyalty and patriotism to our nation, for your sacrifices (of any kind) to same, and for your brilliance in effecting and giving birth to what was considered by most to be impossible…

….the REAL #Resistance movement…known as MAGA…

…and the sheer genius for convincing another great American patriot….Donald J Trump….

….to be the face, voice, and leader of your (our) movement.

We do not know who you are today, but we greatly look forward to the time to come (and it IS coming) when, on that great and terrible day of the King of kings return, the veil of secrecy shall be lifted and the full accounting of all your efforts and sacrifices in the name of freedom and liberty under God Almighty shall be made known, and each of you properly recognized and acknowledged. And when it is, you will hear and feel the roar tens of millions of voices in deepest thanks and gratitude.

It is a fact:

Countless millions, not just here in America but around the entire globe, have flocked to the movement you have unleashed after untold YEARS of patience planning, cunning, and foresight. Along with President Trump, you….QAnon….have become a bright beacon of hope to a long-suffering world that thirsts for righteousness, goodness, and truth.

We are praying for your safety, for your successes, and for the victories that lie before us, in no small part because of all of your combined efforts.

God bless, keep, and protect you all. And thank you, so much, for giving us all the hope we had all but thought extinguished under the previous administration.

In pic #1 the navy blue shirt guy w/ the green rusted hard hat is in the back on the left – the sticker on the side isn’t 100% visible but you can tell it’s present on the helmet. By pic #3 the NUCOR sticker is partically visible. I can’t make it all out but the text “Make it Happen!” is legible enough. Oh and there’s some faint gray marking printed behind the text. Worth noting is the other sticker, representing “on target”.

EU Vice-President Mairead McGuinness cut off Nigel Farage’s mic and ordered British flags to be removed from the European Parliament in a moment that was emblematic of why the UK voted to leave in the first place.

This really has to be fixed, and quickly. Remember the Midterms? The whole fake-impeachment nonsense wouldn't have even happened if Voter Fraud had been properly addressed then. pic.twitter.com/TaOeMVKO9I

A man in Iowa asks Joe Biden to stop supporting the building of new pipelines. Joe Biden tells him to go vote for someone else and then starts accusing him of voting for Bernie Sanders. Actually, the man says, he's voting for Tom Steyer. Very awkward. pic.twitter.com/OOuGiypED8

Just received a briefing on the Coronavirus in China from all of our GREAT agencies, who are also working closely with China. We will continue to monitor the ongoing developments. We have the best experts anywhere in the world, and they are on top of it 24/7! pic.twitter.com/rrtF1Stk78

Just received a briefing on the Coronavirus in China from all of our GREAT agencies, who are also working closely with China. We will continue to monitor the ongoing developments. We have the best experts anywhere in the world, and they are on top of it 24/7!

1/28/20 Update! The San Francisco Chronicle is now being told they cannot get anymore Info. By the Federal Gov. Because of you! TY! The Sutter County Sheriff refused to give anything but names to the journalist & took it to the Federal Level. The Sheriff's are now accusing the… pic.twitter.com/BMXu7tH6OT

I took a class a couple years ago and got my concealed weapon permit…was the only female (and could have been the mother of everyone there.) Actual shooting test was held outdoors…first time for me because I had practiced a couple of times at an indoor range…much different! Nevertheless, passed with flying colors! 👍 Hopefully, your test will be at an indoor range…no wind factors, sun angles, etc.
IMO, important to be comfortable with your weapon…practice loading unloading until it’s familiar. Doesn’t even have to be your weapon…I borrowed a friend’s 22 semi-automatic with a longer barrel. It has no “kick” and the longer barrel made aiming easier. I also have very small hands and this gun fit well.
For us, the class was a morning session about the laws, especially carrying in car while traveling, but also your choices and obligations in regards to situations such as home invasion. State laws, etc. Took written, multiple choice quiz, at end of session. Easy and answers were covered in class.
After lunch, the firing range test…shooting a target at different distances within a timed period….you go one at a time, everyone doing the same distance before going to the next one. A little intimidating for those of us new to shooting, but this is when your confidence with the gun pays off…and just taking measured time, not rushing your shots, and focusing only on the target The others were very quiet to allow you to concentrate.
I volunteered to go first because I didn’t want to be intimidated by others’ performance. Some of those in class already had permits from other states and were very experienced.
They went..bam,bam,bam . I went bam…bam…bam! LOL. The instructor might murmur …”aim a little lower.” I think I score something like 80-85% where as the others were 90+. Like college classes…the important thing is passing, not getting 98%.
I know there are many here who have vast experience, but just throwing my 2 cents in as someone who didn’t.

I began shooting at the age of 3 with my brothers in the basement of our home.

The reason we could do this is because wayyy back in the day one could buy .22 shorts with compressed lead bullets that would turn to dust once they hit a solid piece of metal.

My father was an avid hunter and gun collector. He had an entire room in our big home that was 100% dedicated to reloading ammunition and gunsmithing. We reloaded all our own ammunition…shotgun, rifle, and pistol. We went to the rifle range at least once a week, every week, for years. Right up until Mom died and he climbed inside a bottle for decade. We would shoot 2 rounds of skeet, 30 rounds ea. at the pistol range, and the same on the long gun range.

My dad had a stern test that my brothers and I had to pass before he took us deer hunting for the first time. He required that we be able to shoot 3 consecutive shots from his favorite .270 at a target at 100 yards and produce a grouping that he could completely cover with a dime.

You see this target?

Whomever produced this target is a damn fine shot. Each and every one of these hits is a guaranteed kill shot. Just put the diamond over the middle of your chest or head. That said, the only grouping that would come close to passing my dad’s test is found in the upper left hand corner, but it is outside what is called “center mass” (ie. the very middle of the diamond) on the right-hand side. I bring all this up for several reasons.

1. That grouping wouldn’t pass my dad’s test. The GOAL was to shoot three times…the first one as close to perfect center mass as possible, and the next two through the first hole. Took my brothers and I YEARS of effort to pass the test. Keep in mind that there is no way a 3, 4, 5, 6 year old can safely handle a .270. Far too much gun. I was the youngest of us 3 when I passed the test at 9 1/2 yrs old. Old men at the rifle range would look on my dad and us and shake their heads. They would shoot groupings that were all over the damn paper, although some were real pros, like my dad.

We started, like I said, with .22s. First at ten yards, to practice our squeeze, breathing, and build confidence, then later at increasing distances. Then we moved up at about age 5 or 6 to a .222 with the stock sawed in half in order to fit our small boy’s body. Believe me, a Remington 700 in a .222 cal with hand loaded ammo spec’d to the gun shooting it is a serious nail driver. I’m talking shoot a turkey in the head at 150 yards serious, which I’ve done. It took us years to grow big enough to handle Dad’s .270s and .30-06s.

Anyway, when the range master blew the horn to stop shooting my brothers and I would run down to our targets to see how we did, the men sauntering down behind us. They’d see us there holding up coins to our targets to see how we did…”that’s a quarter group”…“this one’s almost a nickle!”…but all too often we didn’t even bother because our groupings were so poor. In fact I didn’t even bother carrying a quarter, nickle, and dime to the range before I was about 7 or 8. If a guy asked my dad once I heard it a thousand times…

“Say mister, what are you trying to make those boys do?”

And he’d always answer, “Shoot through the same hole as the first shot. Consistently.”

2. There was real genius in my dad’s method. First, from the earliest age we were taught and learned gun safety. And the only way to truly learn gun safety is to handle loaded guns….starting with unloaded guns first. For example…

One of the most fun…and dangerous… types of hunting is hunting quail over dogs. In fact, this is my favorite hunting of all. But quail are ground dwelling birds, which means that…when flushed…one is most often aiming about chest to head high as the birds only come up from the ground just enough to clear the ground cover in order to fly away. This makes hunting quail with a group of shooters VERY dangerous….UNLESS every man there REALLY knows WTF he is doing, has incredible gun handling skills, and iron discipline to pass up a shot if it’s too risky.

How did my dad teach us?

Well, naturally first we had to prove our ability with a .20 ga. shotgun at both the trap & skeet ranges. We would also have to demonstrate excellent behavior in the home, or lose our chance to go hunting with him. Discipline was the name of the game. Then he would take us out individually on a hunt with some of his best friends. But we hunted with our shotguns unloaded. He would walk and stand right behind me in the group of men as we hunted quail. He expected me to aim and pull the trigger of my unloaded shotgun when birds would flush just as if I was shooting for real. More than once my brothers and I would get too excited, forget our place, and ”swing through” one of the group while aiming at a bird. Incidentally, this is precisely how former VP Dick Cheney shot a friend of his in the face while quail hunting. When we could get through a few hunts in a row without making any unsafe moves or handling mistakes, that’s when we got to try it for real. But only with my dad at first. It took quite a while before my brothers and I were allowed to hunt with the men, and it was a real coming-of-age experience where we each finally made the grade.

Anyway, the end result of my father’s careful coaching and upbringing was three sons who were uncommonly fine shots with all three types of firearms who had a very wide depth and breadth of outdoor hunting skills and experience. Moreover, we were very safe.

I bring all this up for the following reasons.

1. Handling a gun safely is a lot like learning how to drive. When you first start out, you have to think about what it is you’re doing all the time. It requires your full attention, and a lapse in your attention can result in an accident. Only after a lot of time has passed and you gain a lot of experience does it start to become second nature. Like driving a car, you come to a point where you can handle a gun safely without really having to think about it.

2. Shooting a gun isn’t hard. Hitting what you’re aiming at is what’s hard. Check that…putting the bullet exactly where you want it to go WHEN you want it to go is what’s hard. And you have to remember….when you practice at the gun range the target doesn’t move (unless you are shooting trap or skeet). The point is, like singing well, driving a car, or anything else it takes a lot of dedicated practice.

Remember that old gent who saved his church congregation recently by drawing his pistol and shooting the moving gunman in the head at about 20 yards away with just one shot in the heat of the moment? Believe me when I tell you that man has been shooting pistols for years upon years upon years. THAT was NOT a lucky shot. That was a deeply experienced and time-honed skill shot that makes Navy SEALs jealous.

I say all this because I want to encourage all you ladies and everyone here to get involved with sport shooting. Learning to handle a gun safely and to shoot well is a time honored and important American past time. Not only is shooting well fun, it also means that once you’re safely trained and skilled you are in a position to defend yourself and others if need be. And God please help us all from not truly needing those skills.

My point in going into all this detail is this….

Don’t go out and accept just anyone to teach you about gun safety and how to shoot. Find an old gent or lady who is a lifelong shooter and hunter with a real depth of experience and skill who can truly teach you the fine art of gun safety and shooting well. You’ll be able to recognize him/her by asking them about their shooting experience and comparing it to the story I just told you, which BTW is 100% true.

And if I can answer any questions for you, don’t hesitate to ask. If I don’t know the answer, which is unlikely, I know where to find it.

FG&C – WOW! Thank you so much for posting this. When you say to start with a .22 would that be a long or hand gun? I lived in MD (owned a gun, never used it, got rid of it) then moved to NY state. I used to just join the NRA when the gun issues came up and decided that didn’t really do any good. So I went and bought an actual gun (Rossi .38 spl), a friend went with me to help me pick it out (he was part of MD special police, worked security at the prison then the hospital). When I sold the gun back to the dealer it had never been fired while in my possession. I bought it one of the years when gun sales were so high.

You said we could ask questions – here go’s (many thanks by the way)
1. 22 long or hand gun (preference of make)
2. If a relative (or my neighbor) is a convicted felon – would they no longer be allowed in my house
because of the gun? When I moved here my brother told me I had to get rid of the gun.
3. When you buy the gun and learn to handle it where would I find the teacher to help me on the next
step? I realize that you had a built in teacher (what a great father). I am retired and have only lived in
NY about 3 years so I don’t know too many people.
4. Just curious – how big is the target that you posted the picture of?

Look, the President inscribes his John Handcock on a hardhat with a huge Q on it – the symbol his supporters know represents a hidden shadow war against the very people who have labelled it a “terror group” and “deranged conspiracy theory”. Go figure. #ConspiracyNoMore

Look, the President inscribes his John Handcock on a hardhat with a huge Q on it – the symbol his supporters know represents a hidden shadow war against the very people who have labelled it a "terror group" and "deranged conspiracy theory". Go figure. #ConspiracyNoMorehttps://t.co/66DISO6jBV

Gen Mike Flynn withdrew his guilty plea—”I am innocent of this crime.” Read his declaration, filed today, destined to become one of the most important & most moving documents in US history.

Gen Mike Flynn withdrew his guilty plea—"I am innocent of this crime." Read his declaration, filed today, destined to become one of the most important & most moving documents in US history.https://t.co/1dl9BIej7S

Some thoughts. I love Lee Smith. Very bright guy. His description of this plea withdrawal is way over the top. The document seems heartfelt. It is kind of shocking to read that Flynn basically admitting he blew it, didn’t understand what was happening and was in over his head. He trusted his attorneys and he says they let him down. He says he knowingly pleaded guilty when he probably should not have.

Powell wrote this is a very contrite way. It stands in contrast to her written attempt to get Brady material. That was more strident. I think the judge will accept this as it was offered – in a positive way.

However, I believe they have forced the judge into rendering a denial of the motion. This plea withdrawal could have happened months ago. My guess is that the judge will sentence him. He might get probation, jail is possible.

I hope I am wrong. Flynn was clearly railroaded. I would love to be surprised and see Sullivan throw out the charges. That would be a lift for all of us..certainly for Gen Flynn. Crossing my fingers.

You obviously did not read the withdrawal motion. I lifted it from there nearly word for word. Have no idea why you would push back on this when it forms the backbone of the motion. Read it. Try doing that. Flynn is not all-knowing. The phrase “in over his head” was a direct quote from the motion.

Do you know anything about how this works? Pretty apparent you don’t understand.

By the way, Powell offered no magic. This was her only choice. She could have done this back in November. She chose to go after Brady material which was brushed aside by Sullivan.

I hope the judge receives this kindly. It would entirely within the law if he said, sorry you had your chance, you are going to jail for 6 months. Perhaps he will be understanding. That is what I hope.